What Films Have You Seen Recently?

[keirarts]

necromancer.jpg

After Julie is raped by some sleazy college rich kids she's scared to come forward in case the college lecturer she's had an afair with (played by the even sleazier Russ Tamblyn in a performance that can only be described as 'oily') gets sacked.
Instead her mate takes her to see the local necromancer who unleashes a demon that takes on Julies appearance and begins killing anyone male who pisses her off. Seeing that most of the men in Julies life are assholes in some way or another this makes things somewhat complicated...

Necromancer is a dodgy late eighties vhs cult oddity (in 4:3 no less) with some decently cheesy effects but a sadly low gore count. Its still a whole bunch of fun if your after something mind numbingly daft, more than a little sleazy and fancy seing Russ Tamblyn playing someone that makes doctor Lawrence Jakoby seem restrained and normal. Still not entirely sure why Julie slept with him. Perhaps its the beard and the tinted glasses... who knows?

Its Dirt cheap at the minute, frankly I paid sod all in CEX for it and its not much more on marketplace so worth a punt imo.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by keirarts

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Necromancer

Its Dirt cheap at the minute, frankly I paid sod all in CEX for it and its not much more on marketplace so worth a punt imo.

I picked it up for a fiver a couple of years ago.

It's well worth adding to any collection.

[keirarts]

patrick remake.jpg

Give the amount of remakes and re-imaginings, re-boots and generally re-pulsive films polluting the market these days it's hardly a surprise that Patrick would get an aussie remake given that Mad max aside its one of the most well known Oz-sploitation films out there. While not a patch on the origional, the remake is still worth checking out as it falls under 'not that bad when viewd objectively' banner.

sharni Vinson from You're next plays a nurse starting work at a hospital dedicated to treating coma patients. Run by Dr Roget, played superbly by Charles dance, the clinic is devoted to finding a way of restoring people in a persistant vegitive state. One of the star patients is Patrick, and it should come as no surprise to anyone that theres more to patrick than meets the eye.

Setting aside the film its a remake of, Patrick offers a gloomy gothic atmosphere, some decent deaths and is reasonable well paced enough to not be boring. Some of the effects however are very ropey, including the final death and the film works more as an interesting 'see it if you get the opportunity' film, rather than any sort of bona fide classic.

Personally though I'd save your coins for the origional as its out in a nice blu-ray edition.

[PaulD]

Originally Posted by SShaw

I also watch the U.S. blu-ray of In Fear, a low budget British/Irish horror film that I saw earlier in the year at the Fantasy Film Nights weekend. I found this better second time round (either I was less tired or the intimacy of a home viewing suits the film better) and recommend it you (its already out on DVD in the U.K. and i believe there is also now a German blu-ray for those without multi-region).

I watched this last night and thought it was great. There was a really unnerving palpable sense of dread throughout the whole thing and it wasn't even let down by its fairly contrived and unoriginal outcome. Really well done considering the budget, locations and small cast.

[keirarts]

Lucy

After two decades of dissapointment it seem that Luc Besson has regained his mojo. Scatlett Johannsen has now appeared in three of my top films this year. Captain America Winter soldier, Under the skin and now Lucy.

I know the film has caught some flak for the whole "we only use 10% of our brains" thing, but it becomes apparant real quick that both this and the drug the imbues Scarletts character with superhuman powers is there mainly as a plot device to quickly explain whats going on so Besson can keep the film cracking along at a fair old pace. Min-sik choi from oldboy makes a great villain and the film manages to deliver action while still trying to provike thought in its audience.

Highly reccomended.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Stitchface (2012)

Edward Furlong stars in this film about parents grieving the loss of their young daughter and head to the desert with a couple of friends for a healing ritual, where they unexpectedly release sinister forces.

It genuinely isn't often that micro budget horror surprises me but Stitchface was one of those films. From the misleading artwork it appears to be a typical child possession horror film, the kind that are ten a penny at the moment, however twenty minutes in, it's easy to see that this is a totally different beast altogether.

In fact i would suggest the film echoes the work of Larry Fessenden (Wendigo, The Last Winter), but on a far smaller budget, in the way that it addresses myth and spiritualism in the setting of a desert environment which is a similar fashion to Fessenden's ideas for The Last Winter.

The film's effects whilst not always successful show a lot of ambition and it's here where the Fessenden connotations really hit home with it's superbly realized time lapse photography which once begun continues throughout the film. The constant lightning strikes and the clouds swirling past, together with the fearsome thunder claps are an assault on the viewers senses just as much as they are on the film's protagonists, all blending together to create the idea of another worldly plane bombarded with cosmic energy. Added to this we are also subjected to occasional salvo's of striking imagery which repulse and fascinate in equal measure. If like me you watch films in total darkness, the film's total sensory cascade of light and sound flashing around the room really give the impression of being part of the movie and add to the viewing experience.

The story isn't particularly complex but much seemingly goes unanswered until the last ten minutes when any incoherencies are ironed out. However by doing this it begs the question exactly what have we been watching?

As the end credits roll it seemed so refreshing to have witnessed a totally unexpected, progressive piece of horror cinema.

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by trebor8273

Beyond the wall of sleep

Well could only manage about 15 minutes of this, little to do with lovecrafts story, disjointed with some terrible acting and but that wig has to be the worst thing in this movie, anyone who has had this misfortune to see this will no what I mean, it has to be seen to be believed !

Shame you didn't dig it - I still have quite a lot of affection for BTWOS, an eighties indie which has kind of slipped through the cracks. Try and stick with it beyond the 15 mins - there's quite a lot of freaky goings on, not all of them successful, but in the end, despite terrible effects and acting, it comes through with an enjoyably surreal vibe (imo).

[SShaw]

My local 'Program Kino' showed Dazed and Confused this evening (I guess to celebrate the recent release of Boyhood). I had forgotten how much fun this film was, and also how many of the cast have gone on to have substantial careers. I may have to order the Criterion blu-ray!

[Frankie Teardrop]

Originally Posted by Frankie Teardrop

Shame you didn't dig it - I still have quite a lot of affection for BTWOS, an eighties indie which has kind of slipped through the cracks. Try and stick with it beyond the 15 mins - there's quite a lot of freaky goings on, not all of them successful, but in the end, despite terrible effects and acting, it comes through with an enjoyably surreal vibe (imo).

Eek! Apologies Trebor, I was thinking of 'Beyond Dream's Door'. Which I DO recommend. Sorry for being such a sucka MC tonight!

[sjconstable]

Lucy (2014) - 6/10

Silly and simplistic with 2D characters, but it's short and sweet. Some of the aspects of the drug reminded me of DMT, and the car chase reminded me of Watch Dogs which I've been playing loads just lately haha.